A Glimpse Into My Future?

The Kenan-Flagler Entrepreneurship Club stopped by Bronto this afternoon as a part of a day-long tour of Triangle-based entrepreneurial-type businesses. Matt coordinated the visit, but was kind enough to let me participate. I must admit it was a little odd co-presenting to a roomful of overdressed MBAs - and not just because I had on jeans, a t-shirt, and a SF Giants baseball cap.

The majority of the people in the group were first-year students. If I attend KFBS, then those folks are likely to be my friends and mentors. (I'll certainly be involved in the entrepreneurship club whereever I end up.) It was cool that so many of them offered up a business card, an invitation to lunch, or a reason that I should attend Kenan-Flagler. I especially appreciated that one student jokingly sought to confirm that I was not considering a Duke MBA...which I most certainly never have.

The experience also brought reality to my impending matriculation. Granted, I've visited schools (KFBS, Darden, Wharton), talked to alums, sat in on classes, scoured web sites, read blogs, the whole 9 yards. However, each of these have been in the context of an applicant completely unsure of how things will pan out. Experiencing a club event as an admitted student was completely different...and much more exciting. Without question, I'll be an overdressed MBA tron that visits a start-up next winter and eagerly soaks up the knowledge like a sponge.

Serpents Victorious Over The Green Team, 32-20

The Orange Serpents moved to 2-0 with a 32-20 win over the Green Team this afternoon.

We jumped out to an early lead that dwindled down to 2 points midway through the third quarter. However, once our big three - Xavier, Austin, and Liam - entered the game together with 4 minutes left in the third quarter, we quickly regained control of the game and cruised to an easy victory.

The unquestionable highlight of the game was when Xavier and Austin ran "screen low", a simple inbounds play we learned in practice this week, to perfection. Xavier scored an easy bucket off of Austin's screen and Liam's good pass. I think I'm going to teach the play to the whole team this week so that we can set up our other players with easy shots under the basket, particularly those that normally don't get to shoot.

I Got In

Many of my loyal readers and friends know that I have spent the past few months applying to business school. For some, I just let the proverbial cat out of the proverbial bag...and hopefully answered any lingering "Why does Eric look so tired?" or "Didn't Eric wear that yesterday?" questions.

I'm happy to report that I've been accepted at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. I'll hear from other programs in the coming months. Suffice it to say that getting the first admit takes a huge weight off of my shoulders.

So that's that. I start business school sometime this fall. I'll do my best to keep the MBA posts to a minimum between now and then.

Eric

Serpents Win Debut

My 7/8 year old basketball team - the Orange Serpents, as named by my kids - tipped off our season today at noon.

Prior to the game, I was a little nervous. We've only had two practices and I was pretty sure that my kids had not absorbed a single word I said during either one. I only had time to teach the two-line lay-up drill and a defense that somewhat resembles a 2-3 zone. Needless to say, I was prepared for an afternoon of complete chaos.

After the game, I'm wondering if I have the greatest 7/8 year old basketball team ever assembled. We won the game 30-16 easily and would have won by much more had I not called off the dogs in the 4th quarter. Our best perimeter players, Austin and Xavier, made seemingly every shot they took and Liam, our big man and best passer, grabbed every rebound and loose ball within his reach. My players stood exactly where they were supposed to stand on defense, shared the ball on offense, and even pointed to "thank" the passer after a made basket on a few occasions.

I couldn't believe how hard my kids played, nor could I believe how they absorbed the little nuggets I had taught them during our two practices. Given their willingness to listen, I'm confident that we'll be running the jump trap and picket fence by season's end.

Today's Random Links


Why I Love Watching Carolina Games at the Dean Dome - Reason #389

#389 - Watching John Edwards glad-hand the entire arena.

During halftime of tonight's game vs. Penn, Presidential Candidate (and UNC Law alum) John Edwards made his way from his seat behind the UNC bench to Erskine Bowles' seat about 10 rows in front of mine.

Along the way, he pumped his fists to exhort the student section, shook hands with the ushers, took pictures with students, preened for ESPN's cameras, took more pictures with students, helped old ladies cross the street, negotiated a cease-fire in Tikrit, and took more pictures with students. Whatever it is, I'd say he has it. It was pretty cool to watch somone schmooze so naturally.

I wish I could have heard his conversation with Erskine, a former Leo McGarry, err, Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton. I'm guessing it was about Tyler Hansbrough's bullish tenacity under the basket...

Merry Christmas From Maw Maw

My grandmother's Christmas card this year was so Christmasy and grandmothery that I thought I'd post it here. May it warm your post-holiday spirit.

To set the stage - the card has a cow on the front. The text inside says "Merry Christmas and a Happy Moo Year." Maw Maw added the following:

Back in the 50's, we had a cow just like this one. Her name was Ann. I worked from 2PM til 11PM and I had to get up in the morning and go to the barn and milk that ol' huzzie. Cathy, Rhonda, and Tommy (my dad) wouldn't drink the milk, so I had to go to Winn-Dixie and buy milk.

I told Tom (my grandfather) I quit milking. He sold the ol' huzzie and that was the end of Boggs Dairy.

Grandma Boggs (my great grandmother) didn't like it but I didn't care what she didn't like.

This is a true story.

Love.

Maw Maw Catherine

PS - I can tell you plenty more if you want to hear it in person.


I asked Maw Maw about it over lunch at my Aunt Rhonda's house on Christmas day, but she didn't have much to add to this anecdote. Instead, she told us about the time she bought shoes for my great-grandfather. He was a substitute mailman, you know. Other than that, he was a lazy no-count. They lived in the little house back on the other end of the farm. He didn't have a car, so he had to get my my grandmother to buy the shoes. So she did. She drove all the way to Gastonia. You know - they didn't have malls in those days...

Sorry - I think I just lapsed into "Maw Maw". I noticed when I started nodding off...

I love my grandmother more than anything. Her peculiarities are what make her great...and are what keep us in stiches every holiday. Learn more about Maw Maw by visiting her MySpace.com page.

Sunken Treasure

My friend Chris let me borrow "Sunken Treasure" - the new concert DVD from Jeff Tweedy, lead singer of Wilco for those of you that are (so unfortunately) out of the loop.

I give it my utmost recommendation. The music is excellent, as you would expect from the greatest living songwriter not named Bob Dylan. However, it is the charming stage banter that makes the film so enjoyable. Jeff Tweedy carries a reputation for being chatty on stage - albeit a little petulant and whiney - and this film more than confirms it. Frankly, I love the guy for it. As I've said before, I know of no other artist with such on-stage banter prowess.

Two of my favorite nuggets:

Idiot fan - "(something stupid) tequila!"
Jeff Tweedy - "I don't drink. It was in the papers, perhaps you read about it."  (Playfully referencing his much-publicized bout with addiction.)

Jeff Tweedy - <whistling the intro to "The Ruling Class">
Idiot fan - "That is so awesome!"
Jeff Tweedy - "Yes. It is."

Strangely, the end credits were my favorite part of the film. It ends with a beautiful first-person shot of a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge at night backed by one of Wilco/Billy Bragg's best songs, "California Stars".

All in all, 5+ stars.

The Bumble

Here's a recent post about Kenny George vs. UNC.

Thanks for reading.

Eric
--

The original Bumble (or Abominable Snowman) from the Rankin Bass classic "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer":

bumble1.jpg


The Bumble that Kelly and I saw today, 7ft 6in Kenny George of UNC Asheville:


This is without a doubt the largest human being I have ever seen in person. For the sake of perspective, Reyshawn Terry, the Tar Heel on the left, is 6ft 8in.

He was pretty lost on the court - slow, uncoordinated, passive. His flat-footed-dunk was the funniest thing I've seen in weeks - my dad even called to laugh about it after seeing it on television. The ball bounced into his hands and he reached up to place it into the hoop without leaving his heels. Absolutely hilarious.

That said, you can't teach 7ft 6in. He's got a chance to make a lot of cash playing basketball if someone can teach him to move his feet and play with some aggression.

Dear Richard, You Are My Favorite Player

Check out the story about a baseball player that responded to his fan mail 15 years later.

I wrote similar letters to countless professional athletes when I was a kid. My dad and I used to pick a handful of likely prospects and reel off 10 letters in a single sitting. (Watching my dad write "My name is Eric Boggs. I'm 10 years old." in a simulated 10 year-old's handwriting was pretty darn funny...)

Just like the author, I - or we - always used the "you are my favorite player" line and expectedly realized a significant conversion on letters targeted to the mediocre players. Craig Worthington of the Orioles, Brian Noble of the Packers, and, especially, Richard Anderson of the Hornets are some of the no-names that come to mind.

Richard Anderson was a scrub for the Charlotte Hornets. I remember him as a complete stiff that subbed into the game for mop-up duty when the Hornets were getting slaughtered, which happened more often than not. My dad and I called him "Wrong Way Richard" for some reason - I guess because we thought he was so terrible. This seems kinda harsh after looking at his career stats and realizing that he stuck in the league for 6 years...

My dad jokingly suggested that I write one of my letters to Richard, so I did. I remember laughing my 10 year-old butt off writing a letter telling Richard that he was my favorite player and that - get this - I thought he should get more playing time. My dad and I thought it was an absolute riot.

As we hoped, Richard wrote me back using the SASE I provided. He wrote a gracious thank-you note, that I've lost, and autographed the card I provided. (I still have the card.) Surely Richard realized my ruse, yet he still replied. Nice guy, that Wrong Way Richard.

In addition to Richard, my efforts also netted some pretty big fish, including Don Mattingly of the Yankees, Kirby Puckett of the Twins, and Kevin Johnson of the Phoenix Suns. I also received a lame "join my fan club" packet from Dan Marino, which was the first in a long line of disappointments from my childhood football hero - including the "Ace Ventura" cameo, the Isotoner Gloves commercials, the Atkins diet commercials, and the awful commentary on CBS Sunday afternoons, not to mention the whole "no Super Bowl" ring deal. Another post for another time...

You Need To Recognize

The ODB AKA "Dirt McGirt" AKA "Big Baby Jesus" AKA "Ol' Dirty Chinese Restaurant" has been pumping through the Boggs family hi-fi for the past 45 minutes and I could not be happier. It has been like re-discovering a thoroughly demented old friend...

A few off-the-cuff ODB-related memories:

- In 10th and (most of) 11th grade, I was the only player on the basketball team that did not have a drivers license, thus I had to hitch a ride home everyday after practice. I can remember riding home in Matt Dowdel's Carolina blue ghetto glider just like it was yesterday. "Return to the 36 Chambers" was still hot at the time - at least to the North Gaston HS basketball team - and we used to blast "Baby C'mon" at gloriously deafening volumes. As the clueless white kid that listened lame white kid music, the outrageously visceral, profane, and hilarious rap stylings of Ol' Dirty make quite the impression.

- No Old West dorm party was complete without a little ODB. "Baby I Got Your Money" soundtracks many of the hazy late night memories from 2001 and 2002.

- Once while listening to ODB in the car with Kelly, she unexpectedly sang along with "Recognize" by substituting my initials - ETB - for ODB. "Mr. Courageous ETB. You need to recognize he's a P-I-M-P. You need to recognize. You need to recognize." This is why I love my wife.

- The day Ol' Dirty died. "During the initial autopsy of the 35-year-old rapper, a doubled plastic bag containing cocaine was discovered in his stomach." Ugh.